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The Board of Selectmen will not ask the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to reconsider its recommendation against putting a cell-phone tower on the north part of Veterans Park, near Old Oak Road.

The P&Z concluded the potential site was too close to homes, could someday be used for a recreational trail or bike path, and might not provide coverage to a wide enough area to prevent another tower from being built in the vicinity.

The P&Z decision appeared to surprise the selectmen, especially First Selectman Thomas A. Herrmann, but it was good news for the Snow family.

The town site was expected to compete with an application for a cell-phone tower on the Snow family’s 57-acre farm on Sport Hill Road. Two possible sites have been identified for a proposed 160-foot tall tower on the Snow property.

The P&Z’s recommendation was based on a request by the selectmen to use town-owned property for a tower, which requires a so-called 8-24 referral from the P&Z.

The Connecticut Siting Council decides where to place cell towers, not municipal agencies.

Herrmann had pushed for the town-owned site because the lease money then would go to the town. The town also collects property taxes on cell-phone towers, whether they are on private or public land.

Herrmann suggested asking the P&Z to reconsider its decision, or make a new recommendation on what municipal property in that area would be acceptable, but Selectmen Scott S. Centrella and Robert H. Lessler didn’t support such actions.

The idea of asking the P&Z to identify any acceptable town-owned sites for cell-phone towers throughout Easton, for future reference, also was raised.

“Under what circumstances would town land ever be considered?” Herrmann asked, based on the P&Z decision.

In its recommendation, the P&Z pointed to language in the town master plan stating that the Veterans Park site be used for a public recreational trail or bikeway.

It also pointed out a taller tower, perhaps 199 feet tall, would be needed at the Veterans Park site and it still would provide less coverage.

The selectmen spent some time trying to figure out how a trail or bikeway from Veterans Park would connect to the town center, as the P&Z said was suggested in the master plan.

Herrmann said the P&Z had failed to consider the “visual impact on the neighborhood” in its decision. He thinks the Snow tower sites would be visible from more homes — as well as a main road — when compared to the Veterans Park site, which is in a less developed area and at a lower elevation.

He also said the P&Z decision didn’t consider the “economic impact” on the town of lost revenue from a possible cell-phone tower lease on municipal property.

Herrmann said the P&Z decision meant the Snow proposal would “go uncontested.”

However, Centrella said, “I don’t have a problem with Snow’s getting some income from this.” Centrella added he only supports the Snow’s Farm site that is farther from Sport Hill Road.

“If it ends up at the farm, that’s OK,” agreed Lessler, who participated in the meeting by speaker phone due to poor health.

Former First Selectman Bill Kupinse, a critic of cell-phone towers in Easton, said the selectmen should pass a resolution against having any cell-phone tower built near Sport Hill Road.

“There’s nothing wrong with you taking a position” against all the sites, Kupinse said.

Will apply soon

A representative of the company that wants to build a tower on Snow’s Farm said a formal application to the Connecticut Siting Council likely will be filed in early January.

No town agency has sent any communication to the council on the Snow’s Farm proposals yet, although that is expected to happen. It appears most officials prefer the site farther away from Sport Hill Road, and that could be stated in future correspondence.

Maria Scotti, of MCM, the company that would build the Snow’s Farm tower, said MCM expects to file applications for both potential sites on the property. “We are fine with either,” she said.

Irv Snow said he prefers the site away from the road. “But it’s really up to the Siting Council,” he said.

A Siting Council hearing will take place in Easton as part of the application process. Scotti said those hearings usually take place two to three months after an application is filed.

Scotti said the Snow’s Farm sites would provide more expansive coverage than the Veterans Park site. “It’s best to go with the site with more coverage so you don’t end up with two towers when you only need one,” she said.

In general, Scotti said, there now is less opposition to cell-phone tower sites than in the past.

“Most towns today, and this is true across the country, have come to the realization that the consumer has embraced wireless communications technology,” she said. “It’s not a technology you can hold back anymore, based on consumer demand.”

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About ProtectEaston.org

Easton citizens united in opposition of cell phone towers in our town.

A group of Easton citizens has come together and founded a group called “The Sport Hill Coalition Against The Cell Tower.” We are leading an opposition against any tower on Snow’s Farm and need your support.